Starting mechanism for automobiles.



C. E. WILSON.

STARTING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMOBILES. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 5. 1915.

1 1 7 1 374 Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

1:1 [:3 C I-Q9 INVENTOR Char/es E W/Asa/ ATTORNEY WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT CHARLES E. WILSON, OF WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WESTING- HOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATIQN OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

STARTING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES E. WVILsoN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of VVilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Starting Mechanism for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to starting mechanisms for automobiles and particularly to such mechanisms as embody dynamo-electric machines having reciprocating armatures for actuating pinions into and out of operative connection with the shafts of internal combustion engines.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple arrangement whereby the armature of the dynamo-electric machine may be reciprocated longitudinallywith a' strong .forcecwhilelittle or no torque is effective to rotate the armature.-

Motors having displaced armatures have heretofore been proposed but they possess certain disadvantages in that they require the use of auxiliary switching mechanisms and resistors to prevent rotation of the armatures until coacting gear wheels are placed in mesh. This arrangement is neces sary because, in the displaced position of the armature, the torque is sufficiently high to rotate the armature at a comparatively high rate of speed before the gear wheels are com-' pletely meshed. It is alsodifiicult to. effect the meshing of the gear wheels when there is considerable lateral pressure between the coacting teeth. When the switching mecha-' nism above described is employed, little or no current traverses the armature winding to produce a torque for rotating the armature, and the gear wheels may be readily meshed because there-is little or no lateral pressure between the coacting teeth to retard their relative slidable movements.

According to the present invention, I pro-- substantially equal in opposite directions;

The longitudinal pull is sufliciently strong,

however, to shift the armature and thereby nected to the coils 17 and 18. -is connected to a pawl and ratchet mechaestablish driving connections between themotorand the engine shaft. When the second winding is energized, the normalarrangement of poles is produced, and full torque is applied to the armature. I

The details of my invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a view, partially in section and partially in elevation, of a portion of an en- The motor armature 5 is arranged for longitudinal movement in bearings 6. A

spring 7, which is interposed between one of the bearings and a collar 8 on the armature shaft 9, tends to maintain the armature in a displaced position relatively to the pole pieces, as illustrated. The commutator cyl-- inder 10 is of such length that it is always in engagement with coacting brushes 11 that are secured to the motor frame. The armature shaft is provided with a pinion 12 which coacts with the gear teeth 2.

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, the motor is provided with field magnet poles 13. 14, 15 and 16. The poles 13 and 15 are energized by field magnet coils 17 that are in series relation with the motor armature and with each other-. The poles 14' and 16 are en- .crgized by' field magnet coils 18 that are similarly connected. The armature is provided with a suitable four-pole winding in accordance with the number of field magnet poles.

-The electrical connections of the motor are controlled by a switching mechanism which comprises a switch lever 19 and contact segments 20 and 21 that are respectively con- The lever 19 nisln 22 which prevents the operation of the switch in a counter clockwise direction to insure that the cycle of operations cannot occur in reverse order.

To start the motor, the switch lever 19 is actuated in a clockwise direction to engage the contact segment 20 and thereby connect the coils 17 in series with the battery. Current then flows through a circuit extending from the positive side of the battery through switch'lever 19, contact segment 20, coil 17,

"and armature winding to ground, and thence to the negative side of the battery which is grounded. The coils 17 are energized by the circuit just described to produce magnet poles of opposite polarity. For example, if the pole 18 is a north pole, the pole 15 is a south pole. Since the armature is provided with a four-pole winding to correspond to the number of field magnet poles, the production of a two-pole magnetic field operates to produce substantially equal forces for rotating the armature in opposite directions. As a result, the armature rotates slowly, if at all. Because of the lor. resistance of the circuit, a heavy current traverses the motor windings and the poles 18 and 15 are energized to exert a strong magnetic force to shift the armature to its central position and thereby efiect the meshing of the pinion 12 with the gear teeth 2.

Further movement of the switch lever 19 opens the circuit of the field magnet coils 17 and establishes a circuit comprising the contact segment 21 and the field magnet coils 18. The coils 18 are so arranged as to produce poles of like polarity. F or example, each of the poles 1st and 16 may be a north pole. The poles 13 and 15 will then become consequent south poles. The dynamo-electric machine now operates as a four-pole motor under normal conditions to crank the engine.

lVhen l the engine starts under its own power, the motor circuit may be broken by the actuation of the switch lever 19 in a clockwise direction to disengage it from the contact segment 21. The armature 5 will then be returned to its displaced position by the spring 7 which has been under compression. The ratchet mechanism 22 insures that the circuit cannot be completed through the coils 17 to again shift the armature. This action would occur if the switch were actuated to its 01f position in a counter clockwise direction.

If the operator fails to open the motor circuit immediately after the engine starts, the motor will be driven at a rapidly increasing speed. The counter electromotive force of the motor is thereby increased to reduce the current traversing its windings to such a value that the longitudinal pulls exerted by the field magnet poles is less than the force of the spring 7, whereupon the armature is shifted to its displaced position, and the pinion 12 is disengaged from the gear teeth 2. It is obvious, therefore, that no damage may be caused by a failure to open the switch atthe proper time.

In case it is desired to insure a slow rotation of the armature while it is being shifted into its central position, one of the coils 17 on the poles 13 and 15 may consist of more ampere-turns than the other. The forces tending to rotate the armature in opposite directions are then unbalanced and a slow rotation is produced which aids in meshing the teeth of the coacting gear wheels.

. A modification of my invention is illustrated in Fig. 3. An electric motor '23 is provided with field magnet poles 24: and 25 having magnet coils 26 and 27, respectively, and with field magnet poles :28 and 29 which constitute consequent poles when the poles 2i and 25 are of like polarity. The circuits of the magnet coils 26 and 27, which are connected in series with the motor armature, are controlled by a switching mechanism 30. The mechanical construction of the motor 23 corresponds, in other respects, to the motor 3 of Figs. 1 and 2.

lVhen the switching mechanism is in its first position, a circuit is completed which extends through the coils 26 and 27 and the motor armature in series. In this position of the controlling mechanism, the direction of current through the coils 26 and 27 is such as to produce poles of unlike polarity. For example, if the pole 24 is a north pole, the pole 25 is a south pole. Since the motor armature is provided with a four-pole winding, the production of a two-pole magnetic field operates simply to set up equal forces which tend to rotate the armature in opposite directions. The motor is then actuated longitudinally by the strong magnetic force of the poles while the armature is rotating very slowly, if at all.

Further movement of the controlling mechanism operates to reverse the connections of the magnet coil 27 and thereby change the polarity of the field magnet pole 25. Since the field magnet poles 2-1 and 25 now have the same polarity, both, for example, being north poles, the field magnet poles 28 and 29 will become consequent south poles and a four-pole magnetic field will be established. The motor then operates in the usual manner to rotate the armature and thereby crank the engine. The operation differs in no other material respects from that described above in connection with the mechanism of Fig. 1.

It will be understood that the number of field magnet poles shown and described is illustrative only, and that a motor having any convenient number of poles may be employed.

Other changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a dynamo-electric machine, the comlongitudinally movable armature having a multipolar winding, of a plurality of field magnet windings, one of which is arranged to produce a smaller number of field magnet poles than that for which the armature is wound.

3. In a dynamo-electric machine, the combination with a field magnet frame, and a longitudinally movable armature having a multipolar winding, of a plurality of field magnet windings, one of which is arranged to produce one-half the number of field magnet poles for which the armature is wound.

4:. In a starting mechanism, the combination with a pair of coacting gear wheels, of means for actuating one of said gear wheels into and out of mesh with the other, said means comprising a dynamo-electric machine having a longitudinally shiftable armature, a multipolar winding forsaid armature, and a plurality of field magnet windings, one of which produces a smaller number of poles than that for which the armature is wound.

5. In a starting mechanism, the combination with a. pair of coacting gear wheels, of means for actuating one of said gear wheels into and out of mesh with the other, said means comprising a dynamo-electric machine having a. longitudinally shifting armature, a multipolar winding for said armature, a plurality of field magnet windings, one of which produces a smaller number of poles than that for which the armature is wound, and means for successively connecting said field magnet windings in circuit with the armature.

6. In a starting mechanism, the combina- Oopies of this patent may be obtained for tion with a pair of coacting gear wheels, of means for actuating one of said gear wheels into and out of mesh with the other, said means comprising a dynamo-electric machine having a longitudinally shiftable armature, a multipolar winding for said armature, a plurality of field magnet windings,

one of which produces a smaller number of I poles than that 'for which the armature is wound, and a unidirectional switch for controlling the electrical connections of said dynamo-electric machine.

7. In a starting mechanism, the combination with a pair of coacting gear wheels, of means for actuating one of said gear wheels into and out of mesh with the other, said means comprising a dynamo-electric machine having a longitudinally shiftable armature.a multipolar winding for said armature, a plurality of field magnet windings,

one of which produces a smaller number of poles than that for which the armature is wound, and means for successively energizing said one field magnet winding and another of said windings. r

8. In a starting mechanism, the combination with an electric motor having a longitudinally shiftable armature and field magnet windings, of means for controlling the current in said windings to produce an abnormal numberof active poles and to produce the normal number of active poles forrotating said armature.

9. In a starting mechanism, the combination with an electric motor having a longitudinally shiftable armature and field magnet windings, of means for successively con' trolling the current in said windings to produce an abnormal number of active poles and to produce the normal number of active poles for rotating said armature. v

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 23rd day of Dec.,

- CHARLES E. WILSON.

Witnesses:

BAYARD D. KUNKLE, B. B. HINES.

five cent: each, Iii addressing the Commissioner of Iatentn, Washington, D. 0." 

